Published: Friday, November 2, 2012 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 1:22 a.m.

GAFFNEY — Gaffney concluded a stellar regular-season turnaround Friday against Spartanburg and a year that appeared to be going nowhere fast now finds the Indians primed for a deep playoff run.

Facts

NEXT FRIDAY'S PLAYOFF GAMES

AREA SCHOOLS4A (Unofficial)Spartanburg at ByrnesHillcrest at GaffneyStratford at DormanBoiling Springs at Wando3AUnion County at Greer2AAndrew Jackson at Chesnee Ninety-Six at Blacksburg

They manhandled the Vikings in a 35-18 victory that clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the 4A Division-I playoffs for the Indians (8-3), who have won five straight after a sloppy start. The Vikings (4-7) will travel to Byrnes in the first round.

“It certainly is a great feeling to win the region championship, especially Region II that’s possibly as good as any in the state for sure,” Gaffney coach Dan Jones said. “After we lost to Wade Hampton the kids decided to play up to their potential and really got after it. We made a couple of changes on the offensive line, receiver and quarterback and it’s panned out and we’re fortunate to be in this situation.”

Senior offensive lineman Kerry Williams added, “A lot of people did count us out, but we just really came together and got tighter as a team and we knew we had to pull it together and get it done.”

The insertion of junior Shaq Davidson as the starting quarterback has helped with his running ability and his scrambling talent that kept multiple plays alive Friday. Junior tailback Hyleck Foster is playing his best football as he followed last week’s 302 rushing yards with an impressive 159 and three touchdowns on 20 carries against a rugged Vikings’ front seven.

“I give them credit because they are a good defensive team, but we just made some adjustments and got some more bodies in there to block for me and I was able to find some creases,” Foster said.

Spartanburg led 12-7 less than two minutes into the second quarter on a Jaimiee Bowe 3-yard run after Gaffney punted out of its end zone to only its 30. Spartanburg’s Tim Gentry had opened the scoring with a 25-yard interception return before Cobby McDowell returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards.

Foster broke free for a blazing 54-yard scamper down the right sideline to regain the lead for good at 14-12 with 8:38 left before halftime.

“At the beginning of the game we just needed to get kick-started and after that long touchdown that did the job,” Foster said.

The big turning point came on the Vikings’ next possession, when they faked a punt on fourth-and-3 from their own 40 and fell short. Davidson topped off an elongated scramble with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide-open Eddie Studyvance five plays later.

Following a defensive three-and-out, Davidson completed all three pass attempts for 43 yards before Foster scored from a yard out for a 28-12 advantage.

“I knew we had to take some chances and that’s on me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it don’t,” Spartanburg coach Freddie Brown said. “But we had an opportunity to try and get the momentum back. You’ve got to take some shots when you’re playing a defense and a defensive line that is that stout.”

The Vikings managed 174 total yards, including only 25 through the air. Bowe ran 28 times for 111 yards.

“Our defense played lights out again and they will have to continue that to move on in the playoffs,” Jones said.

<p>GAFFNEY — Gaffney concluded a stellar regular-season turnaround Friday against Spartanburg and a year that appeared to be going nowhere fast now finds the Indians primed for a deep playoff run.</p><p>They manhandled the Vikings in a 35-18 victory that clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the 4A Division-I playoffs for the Indians (8-3), who have won five straight after a sloppy start. The Vikings (4-7) will travel to Byrnes in the first round.</p><p>“It certainly is a great feeling to win the region championship, especially Region II that's possibly as good as any in the state for sure,” Gaffney coach Dan Jones said. “After we lost to Wade Hampton the kids decided to play up to their potential and really got after it. We made a couple of changes on the offensive line, receiver and quarterback and it's panned out and we're fortunate to be in this situation.”</p><p>Senior offensive lineman Kerry Williams added, “A lot of people did count us out, but we just really came together and got tighter as a team and we knew we had to pull it together and get it done.”</p><p>The insertion of junior Shaq Davidson as the starting quarterback has helped with his running ability and his scrambling talent that kept multiple plays alive Friday. Junior tailback Hyleck Foster is playing his best football as he followed last week's 302 rushing yards with an impressive 159 and three touchdowns on 20 carries against a rugged Vikings' front seven.</p><p>“I give them credit because they are a good defensive team, but we just made some adjustments and got some more bodies in there to block for me and I was able to find some creases,” Foster said.</p><p>Spartanburg led 12-7 less than two minutes into the second quarter on a Jaimiee Bowe 3-yard run after Gaffney punted out of its end zone to only its 30. Spartanburg's Tim Gentry had opened the scoring with a 25-yard interception return before Cobby McDowell returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards.</p><p>Foster broke free for a blazing 54-yard scamper down the right sideline to regain the lead for good at 14-12 with 8:38 left before halftime.</p><p>“At the beginning of the game we just needed to get kick-started and after that long touchdown that did the job,” Foster said.</p><p>The big turning point came on the Vikings' next possession, when they faked a punt on fourth-and-3 from their own 40 and fell short. Davidson topped off an elongated scramble with a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide-open Eddie Studyvance five plays later.</p><p>Following a defensive three-and-out, Davidson completed all three pass attempts for 43 yards before Foster scored from a yard out for a 28-12 advantage.</p><p>“I knew we had to take some chances and that's on me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it don't,” Spartanburg coach Freddie Brown said. “But we had an opportunity to try and get the momentum back. You've got to take some shots when you're playing a defense and a defensive line that is that stout.”</p><p>The Vikings managed 174 total yards, including only 25 through the air. Bowe ran 28 times for 111 yards.</p><p>“Our defense played lights out again and they will have to continue that to move on in the playoffs,” Jones said.</p>